Page 20 of Dublin Charmer

“Well, if you’re not up to the task…”

“No. I can do it. It’ll just take a little more time.”

“Time is something you’re running out of. Your brother would like to keep all his fingers for the new year, I imagine.”

The line goes dead and I hurl my phone across the room where it clatters against the wall and drops on my little couch.

“Cazzo!”I press my palms against my eyes and fight back the sting of tears. I won’t cry for this asshole. I won’t! He doesn’t deserve my emotions. When I look up, Gio is staring directly into the camera.

Does he know I’m watching? Does he know I’m searching for him?

I touch the screen. “Hold on, little brother. I’m coming.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Finn

Upstairs, the five of us join the ladies in the sunken living room. The room is warm with a fire crackling in the massive stone hearth, casting dancing shadows across the faces of the women who’ve captured my brothers’ hearts.

Piper curls against Sean’s side the moment he sits, her dark hair cascading over his arm. Harper, all lean muscle and quiet grace, gives Bryan a smile that transforms her entire face. Nora’s eyes light up when Brendan enters, her worry obvious as he limps across the floor to close the distance. And Laine, her pregnancy making her glow, stretches her hand to Tag from where she rests on the oversized sectional.

The knife twists in my chest. It’s not jealousy exactly, but something close to it.

A longing for what they have. The ease of it. The rightness.

Tag drops a kiss on Laine’s forehead, his hand automatically finding the swell of her belly.

Sean whispers something in Piper’s ear and makes her blush.

Brendan pulls Nora into his lap despite her laughing protests about not wanting to hurt his leg.

Bryan and Harper exchange a look that feels too intimate to witness.

I hover at the edge of their happiness, feeling like the odd man out. Sure, I’m the youngest, but when the people of the city were handing out the monikers, they dubbed me the Dublin Charmer.

Doesn’t that imply that they find me charming? Shouldn’t that mean I could find someone to share my bed with…and more importantly…my heart?

“Finn, come sit by me.” Laine pats the space beside her. “Tag, get your brother a drink.”

I sink into the cushions beside my sister-in-law, grateful for her intervention. “Thanks.”

Laine leans closer, her voice low. “You look like you’re attending a funeral, not Christmas.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Only to someone who’s paying attention.” She accepts a glass of sparkling water from Tag with a smile, then turns back to me. “What’s this about? Can I help?”

I shrug, watching the amber liquid swirl in my glass. “I don’t think so. It is what it is.”

She shakes her head. “Hey, I’m a lawyer, remember? Anything you say goes into the vault of confidentiality. Just between us.”

I meet her gaze, gauging her sincerity on that. “You won’t tell Tag?”

“Not if you don’t want me to. Look, I understand what it’s like live in a house with a lot of powerful people and feel isolated. If you need a friend, I’m here. If you just need to vent, I’m a superb listener.”

I let out a long sigh. This isn’t really the time or place, but between the music playing and my brothers chatting up their women, no one is paying much attention to me.

Story of my life.